The One That Got Away
by BlushippingZutara
Summary: It looks like an ordinary homicide investigation but then...the strangest of all things occur. Just who is this victim and why was she so desperate to hide who she is and where she came from? R&R. Rating for safety.
1. Chapter 1

Hello! Homicide detectives, who could ask for something better? Please review!

* * *

Richard Castle liked to think of himself to be an averagely normal man, working with an NYPD homicide detective who was the basis for a book he'd written and that book instantly became a best-seller. He also had his mother living in his house and his college-age daughter who's friend was now laying on the floor in front of him and aforementioned officer of the law in her college apartment. The girl had bright blue eyes staring blankly at the white ceiling, arms and twin, vibrant-red braids splayed out on the floor as the crimson stain spread on the white carpet. Rick almost felt a personal connection to the victim as a novel with his name on it lay beside her, the first piece of evidence now covered and soaked in the grotesque liquid with a yellow #1 card next to it.

The girl's braids were long enough to reach her well-formed hips, covered in a pair of pale-teal jeans. She also wore a pair of white socks with black smudges on the beginnings of her toes and the undersides were stained a pale red, the color having been rubbed on from the pair of red-brown high heeled boots that rested peacefully by the black, pull-out couch. The girl also wore a blue, button-up shirt with two holes on each side of her chest.

Uniforms were scouring the small apartment for anything, checking under the pull-out and coffee table next to it, littered in college essays stained in red pen that would never be edited and turned in, and a bag of sunflower seeds half-eaten, their hallow remains as well as those of a few soda and Red Bull cans laying in a trash can in between the bed and table. On the edge of the table was an iPod playing Broadway musicals and movie soundtracks on an endless loop. No one had the heart to turn it off.

Her cell phone lay on the bed, tangled in the beige blanket and white sheets. The pillow had a few traces of bright red hair, coveted from its owner in her scarce hours of rest. A notebook, half-full of paper, lay open next to the pillow and a small pile of crumpled pieces covered in crossed-out scribbles was accumulating in the corner between the mattress and the couch. Whoever she'd been writing to would get the NYPD homicide at their door, as opposed to whatever letter they were expecting.

Lanie stood up and passed a wallet to Kate, her lips pressed in a thin line as she did so.

"Our victim is a 19-year-old student of Columbia University. Name in her I.D. says she's Annie Oakley. She took three shots, two to the chest and one to the head. Based on body temp I'd say the time of death was between midnight and two am this morning." Kate nodded as she opened the wallet and the girl's green I.D. glared back at them, her picture showing what she'd looked like in life: A bright, happy smile that lit up the picture, blue eyes full of life and vibrant red hair pulled over her shoulder in a loose braid.

"Well, let's get started. Finish up here, check her phone, iPod, TV, everything with a screen, get her down to the morgue and then we'll start looking into the investigation," Kate said as she turned away from the victim. She nodded to Castle sharply before brushing past him. Rick sighed and looked down at the book as Lanie gently picked it up and put it into an evidence bag, the title on the spine reading "Storm Front" in silver letters.

"Looks like she just got started," Lanie said remorsefully as she closed the bag and handed it to another officer. Castle nodded as he slowly turned and left the scene.

* * *

BZ: Hey everyone. I just recently joined the site and this is my first homicide so if you guys can give me some feedback like constructive criticism, that would be great. This is set some time after Kate gets shot but before she dates Castle. But I am a huge fan of the pairing! Bye! Please review! And I promise the next chapter will be longer.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello! And I want you all to know that at any point, this could become a crossover. Thank you to all who reviewed!

TORONTOSUN: _I like the time period, and that Rick doesnt say anything. Silence means a lot. _Thank you for your kind words. And like they say, "Actions speak louder than words."

wendykw: _Interesting to set a homicide in Alexis's apartment. One suggestion: Try to avoid the run-on sentences. I end up having to re-read the sentences to try and decipher them. _Okay. Um...this is probably because of my run-on sentences but Annie was killed in her own apartment, not Alexis'. So, I'll be fixing that.

ucsbdad: _Annie Oakley? Was it Ryan in disguise? (The reference is to Season Three, Ep 1.) Keep going. Nice start. _LOL. No. This is a different Annie. But I love that reference. Thank you so much!

* * *

Beckett sighed as she looked over the manila envelope in her hand containing Annie's school records.

"Find anything?" Castle asked as he set a coffee down on her desk. Kate nodded, both in thanking and answering him.

"Annie Oakley was pulling a double major in Psychology, mainly Psychoanalysis, and ASL. She claimed she wanted to do it for the police." Castle grimaced as he sat down in his chair. "She didn't skip class, she attended every seminar and lecture even mentioning these things. Her teachers all loved her."

"Yo!" Esposito said as he walked up to the duo with a small stack of photos. "Found some next-of-kin to our Miss Oakley."

"And?"

"And apparently, this girl has nine aliases." Beckett's eyes widened as Rick stood up and Esposito pulled nine pictures out of his pile. "Annie Oakley, Anastasia Jones, Jane Jones, Annie Jones, Anastasia Romanov, Annie Roe, Jane Doe, Jane Roe, and Anastasia Storm," he said as he dropped similar pictures onto the desk, different shades of red hair, sometimes brown or black, but the same bright blue eyes and smile in each picture. "We got the next-of-kin off Anastasia Storm. She has two adoptive brothers: Dick and Tim, one cousin, and uncle: Megan Monroe and John Jones." Esposito handed the rest of the stack to Beckett, who handed them to Castle.

John Jones was a dark-skinned African American man with a clean-shaved head and face, dressed in a dark suit. His niece, Megan, was Caucasian with auburn hair and brown eyes. Annie's brothers had the same black hair and blue eyes, but Tim kept it a little more neat than his elder brother.

"How did you figure she had nine aliases?" Kate asked.

"Annie's neighbors. Apparently, she introduced as something different to all the neighbors on her floor. None of them heard gunshots anytime last night. But one of them said she saw a boy nearly everyday the past few months. He'd stand outside Annie's apartment for about half an hour before he vanished. We don't have a name: just description. Got the neighbor sitting with a sketch artist to see if we can I.D. the boy," Esposito explained. Beckett nodded. "Ryan's down at Columbia University asking Annie's professors if they saw anything suspicious." Beckett nodded again.

"Until Ryan gets back, we can't really do much unless Annie's brothers are in New York now," she said solemnly as she looked at the murder board, clipping the nine aliases up. "Once we find out who she registered as in her school, we can find out who she really is and go from there."

"Talking about me behind my back are we?" Ryan asked as he appeared around the corner, holding a file in hand. "Apparently our girl is from Maine on scholarship for Psychology. Her emergency contact is her brother, Dick Grey, followed by Tim Grey, her younger brother. One of her professors said he'd met both boys at a party. Both are good boys. But then he mentioned another boy that resembled both of them on a motorcycle after classes. Anastasia would get a little nervous before climbing on with him. He'd give her his helmet so he got a clear shot for a picture," Ryan explained as he produced a black cell phone, showing the picture of Anastasia, holding a brown backpack over her shoulder, staring at a boy who offered her a red helmet. The boy had black hair that was somewhat short and sky-blue eyes. He wore a black shirt, jeans and a brown leather jacket and didn't look like he'd be kind if no was given as an answer. He looked like he could easily take down an entire professional football team by himself.

"Do we have a name?" Beckett asked as she looked at the picture.

"The teacher said he never got it from Anastasia. She simply said he was a high school friend that she was meeting up with. But I sent the pic to tech for facial recognition. He has a motorcycle so we should have him at least in the DMV."

"Unless he's driving it illegally," Kate pointed out. Ryan sighed and shrugged.

"Well, just to be thorough, I'll check into Anastasia's financials and cell records. Maybe we can find something there."

"If not, then we're back to square one. Let's hope that's not the case," Esposito said as he carefully took down the other eight aliases, leaving Anastasia Storm, before he and Ryan went back to their desks. Beckett sighed.

"A part of me wants to take this like a normal case. But this girl wanted to work with the police and do good with what she learned. It's almost hard for me not to treat her like a cop," she said as her finger began to tap on the desk. Rick nodded as he looked over the murder board and sat next to her. "Any theories?" Beckett asked almost sarcastically.

"Well, if it is the boy, maybe she owed him something and when she couldn't deliver, he killed her. But maybe...a jealous ex came into play and when they saw the two together, thought to end something?" Castle suggested. Beckett almost snorted. "But until we know more about Miss Storm and her past."

"If she had nine aliases, she must've been trying to hide something," Kate said just before her phone began to vibrate.

"What is it?" Castle asked as she answered the device.

"Lanie," Beckett said as she turned the phone towards Castle, showing 911 as a message.

* * *

Kate nearly slammed the door as she came into the morgue. Lanie cocked an eyebrow as the duo almost ran into the room.

"What is it?" Beckett asked.

"I didn't believe it until I saw it again. I was trying to cut into her chest to find the bullets she was shot with but..." Lanie picked up a small blade and Annie's hand, slowly drawing the sharp edge across the back of the appendage. A small amount of the liquid oozed out before it stopped, drew itself back into the cut and the cut sealed itself shut. "Apparently our victim has quite a bit to hide."

"She's a superhero!" Castle said excitedly, earning nearly annoyed glares from the living women before Beckett turned away and headed for the door.

"Let's check with Anastasia's family and friends before jumping to that conclusion," she said.

* * *

"What other explanation is there for a cut like that to heal?!" Castle asked as Kate sat down at her desk.

"Well, she wanted to do psychology. It probably included a science. Maybe something went wrong that caused her cells to react faster to damage," she explained flatly. "And maybe it just happens with cuts. She still had her bullet wounds."

"Uh guys!" Ryan called, catching the duo's attention. "Found something on the guy Anastasia was with and you might want to see it." Beckett stood up and walked over, Castle following quickly behind. "Okay so this was an ATM about a block from her place just last night," he explained as he started up the security footage. Immediately, Annie appeared, holding her Storm Front book and a black box while pacing in front of the machine. Sometimes she opened the box or book but only for a few seconds before closing it and frantically looking up and down the street.

"It's almost like she's scared of something," Kate noted as Anastasia came to a stop and her face lit up like a Christmas tree. A few seconds later the dark-haired, muscled boy appeared and threw his arms around her middle while she threw her own arms around his neck. The boy lifted her up and spun her around, showing a lump in his jacket pocket.

"I wouldn't say she's scared of him, more like she's in love with him," Castle said as the boy set the girl down and started kissing her face. "And apparently he liked her."

* * *

BZ: Hey everyone! Happy New Year! 2014 should be awesome. And hey, I hope you all liked this chapter. Please let me know if you did or not. Review! Bye!


	3. Chapter 3

Hey everyone! First, I want to wish all of you a Happy New Year!

ucsbdad: _Interesting. Anastasia Romanov? She has a talent for interesting aliases. Thanks for sharing. _Indeed! Than you and Happy New Year!

TORONTOSUN: _Happy New Year._

I like it. A superhero, something is up. This is right up Rick's alley. Only Rick could come up with this theory.

Thank you. And Happy New Year to you too. :)

* * *

Beckett tapped the end of her pen on her desk as the dial tone continued to ring. Esposito had managed to find Anastasia's father's number and she was trying to get through but apparently he was a CEO and his secretaries were idiots.

"What other powers do you think Anastasia had?" Castle asked as he turned enough to make it obvious he was asking her, but not enough to see the glare she sent him the next second. "Invisibilty? Telepathy? No! Telekenises!"

"You want to know my superpower?" Beckett asked, catching Rick's attention for a moment. "Tell-a-you-to-shut-up."

"Yo!" Esposito called from his desk, calling the duo to him. "So I looked into Anastasia's financials apparently she was paying for a room everyday for the past few months to a hotel not more than two blocks from her apartment."

"And who's the room for?" Beckett asked as she leaned over Esposito's shoulder as he brought up the picture of an auburn-haired girl with brown eyes.

"Megan Monroe, Anastasia's cousin."

* * *

"You seem to be holding yourself together pretty well Megan," Beckett said as she opened the folder in front of the auburn-haired girl. Megan was sniffing and wiping at her eyes constantly, wiping her hands on her jeans and pushing up the sleeves of her white top. Occasionally she'd fiddle with a diamond ring that hung from a chain around her neck.

Megan's hair fell to around her shoulders and her bangs covered her forehead. Her nose and cheeks were lightly speckled with fading freckles.

"Annie was the nicest person I knew. Why would anyone want to hurt her?" the girl asked as she wiped her eyes again. Castle's eyes were drawn to the ring. The stone had been cut in a princess cut and held in place by the white gold accessory.

"That's a pretty ring. Did you get it yourself or..." Megan shook her head as she blinked furiously.

"Someone...very special...gave it to me," Megan explained between gasps.

"Megan, I hate to ask this but where were you between midnight and two this morning?" Beckett asked kindly. Megan let out a tiny, sob-ish squeak before taking a deep breath and wiping her eyes again.

"I was in my hotel room. Alone. But we have a doorman. I think Jack or Neil was on duty. One or the other."

"It also says here you attend Findley University in Ohio. Why are you in New York?" Beckett asked gently. Megan sniffed.

"A few months ago, Annie called me. She asked me to come to New York. There was something she wanted to talk about. So I decided to take this semester off and spend some time with my cousin. When I got here, again, a few months ago, she told me that her boyfriend was acting distant and she didn't know what to do so she wanted my advice," Megan explained, stopping every now and then to swallow another bout of sobs.

"Have you dated more often than her?" Megan shook her head.

"We both dated once."

"So why did she want your help specifically and not one of her in-town friends?" Castle pressed. Megan wiped at her cheeks.

"Because she was dating my ex," Megan whimpered. Castle and Beckett met eyes for a second before Beckett pulled out an blown-up, printed copy of the picture Ryan had on the phone earlier. She placed it in front of Megan.

"Is this him?" Megan wiped her eyes again and looked for a moment before nodding.

"Yea. That's Conner," Megan stated with an affirmative nod.

* * *

"Conner Kenton," Esposito reported as he put the picture of the teen on the murder board. "He attended high school with Anastasia and Megan, dated Megan through Junior year. Then he broke up with her. Lots of kids thought Conner and Annie acted like a brother and sister more than Megan and Annie acted like cousins. Apparently, first day there, Megan got doused with water as per the ritual for joining the cheer squad but Annie also got soaked. She stormed off without a word. Now this is where it starts to get weird. Conner lives with a single dad and grandparents in Kansas." Ryan nodded as he handed an envelope to Beckett.

"Annie's recent calls before her death brought up a couple other things. Wallace Wilson is from California, where he lives with his aunt and uncle. Then there's Ariana Cross, who grew up in the same city Annie's father and brothers live. Then Kal Duram from Atlantic City and then to her brothers. All of them were made at around twelve thirty." Castle peeked over Becket's shoulder as she looked at the pictures.

Wallace had red hair that looked like it had been pushed back from his forehead a little too often and bright green eyes. Ariana had olive-toned skin, grey eyes and long blonde hair that she kept up in a ponytail. Kal was an African-American boy with hard, pale eyes and blonde hair cropped military style.

"And get this: Every last one of them bought a bus or plane ticket right after their calls and are in New York now. As well as Annie's brothers," Ryan said, a little excited.

"Alright. Check all their phones and send uniforms to pick them up. Conner too," Beckett said as she moved off her desk and into her chair, waiting for the results of her orders. Castle sat down in his chair as he looked over the new faces on the board.

"There's nothing," he said, catching Beckett's attention.

"What was that?"

"A boy from California, another from Kansas, another from Georgia, two girls grew up in Maine, three kids raised in the same city. None of them really have connections to each other. Ariana probably grew up in the slums, not the better part of the city with Annie's brothers. How did Annie know all of them?" Beckett shrugged.

"But I'm guessing you have a theory?" Castle grinned.

"A secret society of heroes devoted to the greater good. And these kids were all their sidekicks," he said, earning an annoyed stare from the officer.

"Only you Castle. Only you," she said quietly.

* * *

BZ: How was that? Please leave a review and let me know!


	4. Chapter 4

Man! I am loving this story! I haven't gotten this pumped about a story since Lady Fate and Harmony in Chaos. And for any of you reading those stories, I am not abandoning them, they are just not at the forefront of my priorities right now. Balto and the other ones are on haitus for now. Do I have that spelled right?

TORONTOSUN: _Happy New Years. Thanks for including me in this chapter._

I guess it took Rick, like moments to behave before telling Kate about the secret society of heroes. I agree with Kate, Only Rick. Classic. I believe he does this to annoy the living daylights of one, Kate Beckett. The last line says it all.

Happy New Years to you too. And it's absolutely no problem. LOL. Yea. Only Castle. And me to write that right? And I agree with you completely.

ucsbdad: _Of course it's a secret society of heroes! Oooh! I bet they have a Secret Hideout! More please. _LLOL! You and Toronto's contrasting reviews made me laugh. And is this quick enough?

* * *

"Care to explain why you couldn't wait until after lunch to arrest my friends and I for something we didn't do?" Dick asked coolly as he tapped on the table with his shades. He was dressed in a pair of dark jeans, a green hoodie and brown windbreaker. Tim sat next to him, pushing his own shades up his nose. He was dressed similarly to his brother but wore a watch and a blue hoodie alone. Beckett sighed, not amused in the least by the boyish tone and behavior.

"As soon as you explain why you got a call from one Anastasia Storm this morning, bought a ticket to New York and then she's found dead by her maid earlier today." Dick's tapping stopped slowly as his eyes widened. Tim removed his glasses as Dick leaned over the table, his fists clenching.

"Are you asking me if _I _or one of my _friends _killed her?!" he snarled lowly. "I didn't even know she was dead until you said it! And I'll tell you why she called us!" Dick roared as he stood up.

"Dick!" Tim said as he grabbed his brother's arm. Dick stayed perfectly still for a moment before Tim stood up, moving his hand to the other boy's shoulder. "Getting mad won't bring Annie back," the younger said quietly. Slowly Dick sat back down; Tim followed the movement. The elder ran his fingers through his hair and over his face as he released a sigh.

"Annie called us at about midnight here last night. She sounded really excited. She said she and Conner had something important to tell us. She wanted to tell us this morning. When Conner showed up without her, we figured we'd wait a few minutes and have lunch while we waited before heading to her apartment. You want an alibi? Tim and I boarded our plane at about one thirty this morning, landed in Philadelphia where we met up with Wally, Ariana and Kal. The only people who were in New York with Annie were Conner and Megan. Both of them have keys to her apartment," Dick said slowly.

"Alright. My team will check your alibis but we will need to talk to Conner," Beckett said as she closed the folder and headed for the door.

"Can we see her?" Tim asked, catching the detectives attention. "See Annie. I mean, we are her next of kin. And for all we know...It could be a girl that looks like Annie that was shoved into her apartment." Beckett felt a sympathetic smile pull at the corners of her lips at the boy's optimism.

"Of course. I'll have an officer escort you two," she said as she left. She closed the door behind her and sighed slowly before carrying out her promise to the brothers. Her phone began ringing and she picked it up. "Beckett...What?!"

* * *

"You're telling me what?!" Castle asked as he followed Beckett back into the morgue.

"Lanie said she found something in the victim that we should see. Could be motive." Lanie nodded as she held up some papers.

"Since I couldn't cut into the victim, I tried to do some x-rays and ultra-sounds and then I found this," she said as she handed an ultra-sound to Beckett. "Turns out our victim was going to be a mother."

"Or she was going to abort it. Maybe the father found out, or maybe Conner found and didn't like the idea of his girl with someone else and expecting a kid?" Castle suggested.

* * *

"Well Conner, according to our sources, you've got one heck of a temper. Apparently, you tore your high school bleachers because some cheerleaders poured water on Megan and Anastasia on your first day. You also have been known to grab kids for almost running into either of the girls in the hall or in the schoolyard," Ryan said as he looked over the file before him.

Conner sighed as he reclined more in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. His jacket hung off the back of his chair.

"Can we just get to the reason as to why I'm here?" Conner said bored as he started tapping his fingers on the table. Esposito nodded as he pulled Anastasia's picture from the file.

"You recognize this girl?" he asked. Conner glanced at the picture then nodded.

"That's Annie," he said. "Is this why I'm here? Someone think she did something or I did something?" Ryan pulled a picture from the crime scene and placed it next to the picture.

"You're here because this is how we found Annie this morning," he said. Conner's eyes widened as he stared at the picture. "Somebody Annie knew entered her apartment and then put three slugs into her. And just a few minutes ago, Detective Beckett and Mr. Castle found out that Miss Storm was expecting a baby." Conner sat back in his chair again and bit on his knuckle.

"So what happened Con? FInd out she was having a kid? And it wasn't yours? Or maybe it was yours but she just said she wasn't gonna have it?" Esposito asked. Conner's eyes shot to the detective and if looks could kill, another homicide would be added to the case.

"You think _I _killed Annie? Why would I do that?!"

"Where were you between midnight and two this morning?" Esposito asked. Conner's fist clenched.

"I was on my way to my job. I have two of them. You can ask my boss. After my shift ended, I fell asleep on a park bench outside for a bit before heading to my other one."

"And you hold two jobs why?" Esposito asked.

"How else is a kid from Kansas supposed to meet with the girlfriend and in just a few months be able to afford a descent ring to propose to her with? How else were we going to take care of our baby? We'd need a descent apartment and clothes for the kid, not to mention raising the kid!"

"You proposed?" Ryan asked. Conner nodded.

"Last night. She told me yesterday that we were having a baby and my family is very old-fashioned. If I got Annie pregnant, it's my responsibility to support her and the kid, be there for both of them and be a part of their family," Conner explained, a little calmer now.

"And she was wearing the ring when you left her last night?" Ryan asked. Conner nodded. "Did anyone else know Annie was pregnant?" Conner shook his head.

"But she did start calling our friends just a few seconds after I shut the door. I just wanted to make sure that she was going to be alright. She almost fainted when I proposed, so you can't blame me for sticking around a little," Conner said.

"And we don't Conner. But we'll have to check out your alibi, I'm afraid. And I'm sorry for your loss," Ryan said.

"Is there any chance I can see her?" Conner asked. "Since my child is technically a victim too." Esposito nodded.

"Of course," he said. "I could-"

"I just need the address not an escort."

* * *

BZ: Holy cow! I did a lot more than I was expecting. And just so you know, I am going to be taking a few breaks between now and my next update. Please review and I promise there's some good plot twists in the next couple of chapters.


End file.
